Northern Ballet, Romeo & Juliet Review ★★★★★

First things first: Northern Ballet’s Romeo & Juliet was danced to live music played by the Northern Ballet Sinfonia, conducted by Daniel Parkinson; and a great job they did, too, providing a clear, articulate, emotional reading of Prokofiev’s glorious score.

Normally, the presence of an orchestra for a major ballet performance would be a given, and opening a review in this way would have been eccentric at best; but last autumn Northern Ballet announced that due to ‘an extremely challenging financial environment’ many, if not all, of its upcoming shows would be played to recorded music.

Cue general consternation shared by orchestra and public alike, as evidenced by the thunderous applause bestowed on the musicians, all wearing 'Save Live Music' T-shirts, at London’s opening night.

Emotion was not confined to the orchestra pit, however. On stage, Northern Ballet offered an intense, turbulent reading of Romeo & Juliet, as devised for the company in1991 by its former artistic director, Christopher Gable, with choreography by Massimo Morricone and designs by Les Brotherston.

It’s a reading of Shakespeare’s play which accentuates the violence, thuggishness even, that pervades Renaissance Verona, denoted by the strong black and red colours of the Capulet family and enhanced by Paul Payant and Alistair West’s lighting.


Northern Ballet, Romeo & Juliet. Photo: Emily Nuttall
Tybalt, in a muscular performance by Harry Skoupas, is a brawler with no redeeming features; at one point he threatens his uncle, Juliet’s father, with a fist; and here his presumed affair with Juliet’s mother (Harriet Marden) is made explicit. Her mourning over his dead body in the town square turns her into shrieking, kicking harpy, all veneer of nobility gone.

This violence contrasts with the innocent, impulsive yearning of the titular lovers, two white clad figures who seem to belong in a better world, danced on opening night by premier dancer Joseph Taylor and leading soloist Dominique Larose.

Taylor may be a Northern Ballet veteran, but his Romeo is fresh, a carefree, impetuous youth who turns into a tender lover. Tall, long-limbed and elegant, Taylor gives a good account of Morricone’s complicated choreography with its frequent changes of direction, and partners Larose with ardour and attentiveness.

Larose’s Juliet grows convincingly from innocent child to young woman in love. Technically assured with beautiful feet, her lines are harmonious, her acting emotional. Together Taylor and Larose make us really care.

Two secondary roles in this cast deserve special mention: Aaron Kok gave us a live wire of a Mercutio, his rashness bordering on a death wish, all served by explosive technique.


Aaron Kok as Mercutio in Northern Ballet's Romeo & Juliet. Photo: Emily Nuttall
And as Juliet’s nurse Heather Lehan offered a layered performance, combining great comic talent with genuine pathos when faced with Juliet’s inert body. Her performance elicited first laughter, then tears and intensified the tremendous poignancy of the final death scene.

Northern Ballet’s Romeo & Juliet was off stage for 16 years following a disastrous flood that damaged costumes and sets. That it’s now back restored to its former glory is reason to celebrate, as this is a powerful, very affecting account of the greatest love story ever told.